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H. KELLEY METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PREPARING VENEER STOCK FOR MATQH SPLINJSv Filed May 21, 1924 Mar. 3.1925. I 1,528,488

amnion VENEER DRIER Patented Mar. 3, 1925..

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7 ii? will nanny KELLEY, or wiLMIneTon, nniriawan n' METHOD OF AND Application filed May 21,

To all whom it may cancer-n:

Be it known :that L'Hannr KELLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at WVilmington, hi tlie county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and usezt'ul Improvements in Methocs of and Means for Preparing Veneer Stock for lil atch Splints, 01" which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the preparation of stock from which matches are produced. in the manufacture of matches from veneer strips, it is the practice to out sheets of veneer from logs and immediately subdivide the sheets into strips, the strips being, in

turn, out into splints while the veneer moist or wet. The splints are immersed in an impregnating solution which treats the splints in such a manner that afterglow, when a match is lighted, cannot occur and the danger of tire from matches carelessly thrown away is avoided. The splints thus treated are then placed in large drums where they are subjected to a tumbling operation and to heat so that they are dried, and, upon emerging from the .drums, they are seemed in carriers which travel past tanks or vats containing the composition for the heads of the matches and into which the. splints are dipped to form'the completed matches. This process is time-consumin-g and also requires installation of complicated and expensive machinery, and it is the object of my present invention to provide a method whereby the complicated and costly machinery heretofore deemed necessary may be dispensed with and the time required to impregnate the veneer and place it in condition for the formation of matches will be very materially lessened. One embodiment or" my invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

in the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of one portion of a mechanism adapted for carrying out my invention, and

Fig. 1 is a similar view of another portion oi? the apparatus, the two views to gether illustrating in a somewhat conventional manner means for carrying out the complete process.

In carrying out my presentinvention, a log, indicated at 1, is secured in a veneer lathe and the lathe is operated in the man ed in v any convenient manner whereby ey will ZMEANS F0153. PREPARJENG VENEER STOCK FOR MATCH ,SPLINFIS.

1924. Serial No. 714,954.

ner usual to cut from the log a continuous sheet of veneer, indicated at 2. A support ing table 8-is preterit-idly arrangedadiacent the veneer lathe to recei-ve*andsupport the sheet ted therefrom, and ta hie maybe equipped with knives to trim lrh'e'side edges of the sheets if so desired. the table opposite the veneer lathe, I an ange a tank 4 which contains tl'ie impreg hating composition, and upon the er the table I provide an idler ro ller over which the sheet of veneer passe s hefore turn ing downward into the tank. WV i th in tank the sheet of veneer is ev ned er trained back and forth so as to travef through the tank in a longtortuous path. the-discharge end otthe tairk is a drain: a lalle l up and over which the sheet ot ve neer passes to the wringing or siz groil ls 8,. The drain table 7 is set at an inclination to the tank so that the surplus liquid flowing from the veneer will drain hack into thetank, and-fit will be noted that the bottom of the tank is also inclined islightlylto 'sd ireottli e material to a discharge pipe :9 whereby the tank may be easily drained when it is to heeleaned *or it is desired to train the initial end 0$ :a

fresh sheet of veneer throughthe' tarrk before the impregnatinglcompositionistoured into the same." The rollers 8 ll1 1 y 1DB mount convenient support and Id iven in be caused to exert sufficient pressure to effectually smooth the surfaces of the sheet of veneer and squeeze therefrom the surplus moisture which, of course, will pass down over the drain board 7 into the tank 4, as well as compress the veneer sheet to a given thickness. In the circumference of each roller 8 is a knife 10 which extends from end to end of the roller and is so disposed that at the end of a complete revolution of the rollers the knives will come together and shear through the veneer so that it will be divided into sheets of uniform length. The sheets passing from the rollers 8 will be caught and piled upon a table 11, as indicated in Fig. 1 This table 11 is disposed near a drier, indicated conventionally at 12, in which the sheets are placed so that all moisture may be driven oii'. From the drier, the sheets are taken and placed upon a supporting table 13 adjacent which is arranged a press 14 in which the veneer sheets may be placed and firmly clamped, the presser head 15 of this press being provided with parallel At the side of slots in which saws or other cutters 16 may operate to divide the sheets of veneer into strips of uniform width. The saws, of course, may be mounted and driven in any convenient manner. The strips thus produced are placed on edge within a hopper or feed box mounted upon a match machine and by the operation of that machine are cut into splints which are :ted directly into a carrier which operates as hereinbefore stated.

It will be readily noted that in the practice of my present invention the veneer is impregnated before it is cut into sheets, and these sheets are dried before being cut into strips of a Width corresponding to the length of the splints which are to be fin- -ished as matches. No large drying drums are required in the practice of my invention and it is not necessary to employ any mechanism for arranging the splints in proper relation to be secured in the carrier inasmuch as they may be fed directly into the carrier as they are formed and they are formed in the proper position and relation to be engaged at once by the carrier. Moreover, the time required to produce the splints is very materially lessened and the cost of production is likewise materially reduced.

Having thus described the invention, 1 claim:

l. The method of preparing stock for match splints which consists in forming veneer from a body of wood, impregnating the veneer, dividing the impregnated veneer into sheets, drying the sheets, and then cutting the sheets into strips.

2. The method of preparing veneer for match splints which consists in impregnating the veneer as it is produced, draining from the impregnated veneer the surplus moisture, dividing the impregnated veneer into sheets, drying the sheets, and dividing the dried sheets into strips.

8. The method of preparing stock for match splints which consists in producing veneer, impregnating the veneer, expressing surplus liquid from the impregnated veneer and smoothing the surfaces of the veneer, dividing the veneer into sheets, drying the sheets, and dividing the dried sheets into strips.

4. Apparatus for producing veneer stock for match splints consisting in a supporting table upon which veneer may be supported, a tank arranged adjacent the supporting table and adapted to contain an impregnating composition through which the veneer may be caused to travel, a drain board at the exit end of the tank to support the impregnated veneer and return to the tank the surplus-compound, means receiving the veneer from the drain board for compressing the veneer and dividing it into sheets, a drier, and means for dividing dried sheets into strips.

5. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a supporting table to receive and support veneer as it is produced, a tank arranged adjacent the table and through which the veneer may travel, a drain board inclining upwardly from the discharge end of the tank and supporting the veneer passing therefrom, smoothing rollers adjacent the drain board receiving and compressing the veneer, and knives mounted in said rollers to divide the veneer into sheets of uniform length.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HARRY KELLEY. 

